Athens-Clarke County Unified Government v. Federal Housing Finance Agency

945 F. Supp. 2d 1401, 2013 WL 2102922, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68225
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Georgia
DecidedMay 14, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 5.-12-CV-355 (MTT)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 945 F. Supp. 2d 1401 (Athens-Clarke County Unified Government v. Federal Housing Finance Agency) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Athens-Clarke County Unified Government v. Federal Housing Finance Agency, 945 F. Supp. 2d 1401, 2013 WL 2102922, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68225 (M.D. Ga. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER

MARC T. TREADWELL, District Judge.

This is a putative class-action lawsuit against the Federal National Mortgage Assoeiation and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, federally chartered private corporations known more commonly by their nicknames Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.1 The Plaintiffs are local governments that wish to represent a class of all 159 Georgia counties. They contend the Defendants’ nonpayment of Georgia’s Real Estate Transfer Tax2 (“transfer tax”) has unlawfully deprived them of revenue. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac argue that federal law exempts them from paying the tax.

These are not new accusations. Over the past two years, local government plaintiffs in several states have brought versions of this lawsuit in their respective federal- jurisdictions,3 including in the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan,4 the District of Columbia,5 the Middle District of Florida,6 the Northern District of Illinois,7 and the Northern and Southern Districts of Georgia.8 So far, the Defendants have moved to dismiss the plaintiffs’ complaints in eleven of those cases. Ten of their motions have been granted.9 The [1404]*1404Defendants have now moved to dismiss this case. (Doc. 22). Their motion is GRANTED.

I. BACKGROUND

The Plaintiffs allege the Defendants have repeatedly ignored obligations under Georgia’s transfer tax, which taxes transactions involving real property.10 The tax must be paid to the clerk of the superior court in which the property at issue is situated “prior to and as a prerequisite to” the filing and recording of any deed or other related instrument. O.C.G.A. § 48-6^4. The clerk then distributes the tax revenues to the city and county where the property is located, as well as to the state. O.C.G.A. § 48-6-8. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have on numerous occasions transferred land and recorded deeds in the plaintiff counties. (Doc. 14, ¶ 17). However, they have either not paid or underpaid the transfer tax. (Doc. 14, ¶ 17). According to their recorded instruments, they have claimed state11 and federal law12 exempts them from paying the tax. (Doc. 14, ¶ 19). The Plaintiffs contend these exemptions are not valid.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Motion to Dismiss Standard

To avoid dismissal pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), a complaint must contain specific factual matter to “ ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). “At the motion to dismiss stage, all well-pleaded facts are accepted as true, and the reasonable inferences therefrom are construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Garfield v. NDC Health Corp., 466 F.3d 1255, 1261 (11th Cir.2006). However, “[w]here the well-pleaded facts do not permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct, the complaint has alleged — but it has not ‘shown’ — that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Id. at 1950. “[C]onclusory allegations, unwarranted deductions of facts or legal conclusions masquerading as facts will not prevent dismissal.” Oxford Asset Mgmt., Ltd. v. Jaharis, 297 F.3d 1182, 1188 (11th Cir.2002). Where there are dispositive issues of law, a court may dismiss a claim regardless of the alleged [1405]*1405facts. Marshall Cnty. Bd. of Educ. v. Marshall Cnty. Gas Dish, 992 F.2d 1171, 1174 (11th Cir.1993).

B. An Exemption from “All Taxation”

When construing statutes, “the starting point ... is the language of the statute itself. If the language at issue has a plain and unambiguous meaning with regard to the particular dispute in the case, and the statutory scheme is coherent and consistent, the inquiry is over.” Warshauer v. Solis, 577 F.3d 1330, 1335 (11th Cir.2009) (internal citations and quotation marks removed).

The Defendants assert that federal statutes exempt them from paying the transfer tax.13 In the case of Fannie Mae:

The corporation, including its franchise, capital, reserves, surplus, mortgages or other security holdings, and income, shall be exempt from all taxation now or hereafter imposed by any State, territory, possession, Commonwealth, or dependency of the United States, or by the District of Columbia, or by any county, municipality, or local taxing authority, except that any real property of the corporation shall be subject to State, territorial, county, municipal, or local taxation to the same extent as other real property is taxed. The Corporation, including its franchise, activities, capital, reserves, surplus, and income, shall be exempt from all taxation now or hereafter imposed by any territory, dependency, or possession of the United States or by any State, county, municipality, or local taxing authority, except that any real property of the Corporation shall be subject to State, territorial, county, municipal, or local taxation to the same extent according to its value as other real property is taxed.

12 U.S.C. § 1723a(c)(2) (emphasis added). Freddie Mac is granted a nearly identical exemption:

12 U.S.C. § 1452(e) (emphasis added). Federal law provides likewise for FHFA:

The Agency, including its franchise, its capital, reserves, and surplus, and its income, shall be exempt from all taxation imposed by any State, county, municipality, or local taxing authority, except that any real property of the Agency shall be subject to State, territorial, county, municipal, or local taxation to the same extent according to its value as other real property is taxed, except that, notwithstanding the failure of any person to challenge an assessment under State law of the value of such property, and the tax thereon, shall be determined as of the period for which such tax is imposed.

12 U.S.C. § 4617(j)(2) (emphasis added).

In this case, the question is whether “all taxation” really means all taxation.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
945 F. Supp. 2d 1401, 2013 WL 2102922, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68225, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/athens-clarke-county-unified-government-v-federal-housing-finance-agency-gamd-2013.